Air Niugini hit by forex woes

AIR Niugini operations have been impacted by the ongoing foreign exchange shortage in the country, according to the airline chief executive Simon Foo. Foo said that Air Niugini had an arrangement with the Bank of Papua New Guinea to cater for the airline’s timely access to foreign exchange. “As you already know, all businesses in Papua New Guinea are dealing with the challenges of the foreign exchange shortage and Air Niugini is no different,” Foo said. “We have a big commitment to using foreign exchange for our aircraft leases, buying our fuel offshore and other costs that we need to maintain our operations. “We work very closely with the Bank of Papua New Guinea and we are one of those that get a little bit of extra consideration to make sure our bills are paid and to make sure that our services are effectively maintained. “There are different ways of owning and operating airplanes. “There are some which Air Niugini owns and there are airplanes which we borrow from the bank as they own it along with other companies. For the Boeing airplanes, they are actually leased from overseas countries. “I would say that the majority of airplanes that we operate are on leases that are both domestic and international. “Papua New Guinea goes through its cycles in terms of the economy and being the national carrier, we have been through the numerous fluctuations over the past 40 years or so. “We have to manage the lows and I am optimistic that things will get better. I would also like to thank our customers for continuing to fly with us. I know the economy is very challenging, but we . . . are grateful for the support of our customers.”